Travel Channel

What did you think of Art Attack with Lee Sandstead?

Lee- Tone it down a bit buddy and you have the beginnings of a really good concept here...

Simon Scharmas Power of Art series on PBS was a good example even if he comes off a bit more...scholarly.

Atlas Media Corp did a GREAT job with some of the Graphics...(yes I watch the credits!)

and less flashy Editing...the works he chose to highlight where great...

Art show for the everyday man-

Lee has the knowledge and he needs to share it more.. and please don't say "Frickin" on national TV just Bleep him like you do for Bourdain.

just my .02 first thoughts.

Hated it. Did Lee take speech classes from the Oxyclean guy?

I did enjoy his selection of art, however. But that's about it.

What a great show idea and what a doofus for a host. He is a cross between a used car salesman and that awful Jim Cramer guy.

What's with his vocabulary? Johnny Cash,,throbbing, throbbing, throbbing,, what the ****?
I don't have to be screamed at to want to learn about art. Dump the host, keep the show concept.

Although your feedback is welcome, please refrain from insulting the host. I think your comments can be delivered in more productive ways such as specific things that you didn't like or suggestions for what could make the show or host better. Thanks!
mod_ben

This show clearly isn't designed for PBS's audience, so I think it has to have a somewhat "over-the-top" style. Marlin Perkins had a great show on PBS for a long time -- but Steve Irwin made nature fun. I do think the host (and the editors) need to tone it down a notch or two, but the overall approach is great.

I think this could be an interesting show. Definitely not much like this out there, and I like the host's ability to make art come to life. I agree that it would be easier to watch if he toned it down a bit ... love his excitement & enthusiasm & knowledge, but I would prefer a little less loud. I would watch this again &, if he can tone it down, I would look forward to this being a series.

I love the concept of the show. It is wonderful that the Travel Channel is trying to bring art to everyone and that it is trying to do it with some enthusiasm.

The criticism that is being cited here is off the mark, I think. Yes, it is true that Professor Sandstead (YES you read correctly, Lee Sandstead is actually a PROFESSOR of art history and has quite an accomplished pedigree in academe) is a bit, as people have cited, "over-the-top," but that is what makes him genuinely fun. I do agree that he and the producers could work on toning down his overall presentation style with respect to his voice's volume, but I would never want them to rob him of his enthusiasm for art. His enthusiasm is really contagious and makes him such a wonderful host.

I would suggest that Prof. Sandstead actually talk more about the art. Specifically, I really enjoyed the sections where he discussed the composition of the pieces. He gave some really interesting comments about the art that would help anyone "appreciate" art more.

In the end, I say make this a series. I love the host's enthusiasm for the art, and I thought the production quality, especially with respect to the graphics, was superbe.

I loved Art Attack, great energy. Even my children who are 14, 11, 8, & 6 enjoyed it and that's a wide age range to appeal to.

Personally I don't want Lee to "tone it down" this is how Lee is, full of energy and honest to goodness excited about the art he's teaching you about. I've had the opportunity to hear him teach and it's very much like that. You've never heard an art history professor with that emotion and excitment.

Overall I hope the travel channel decides to continue with Art Attack, great concept, great host and it could possibly be one of the only shows on tv my whole family would sit down and enjoy together.

I loved the show, and I think Lee's enthusiasm is perfect. I watched every minute and am looking forward to more. I can't wait to see the next adventure that he has in store for us. The comments that he is "over-the-top" don't appreciate the point -- that he is enthusiastic about art ... he loves art ... and he wants to share that enthusiasm and love with everyone watching, which he does perfectly. Lee fits in to the same genre as Steve Irwin did, that Bear Grylls (from Man vs. Wild), and Jeff Corwin (from Into Alaska) do. My favoriate quote from Bear Grylls is "people ask me what do I want to be when I grow up -- why grow up." Lee has that same "first time seeing" approach coupled with his knowledge of Art History that makes this show work. I can't wait to see more!

I loved this show! I agree with the previous posts that Lee is very much like Steve Irwin - he makes his subject fun and accessible to everybody. I also have had the pleasure to take several of Prof. Sanstead's tours and he has great knowledge and insight - not to mention his enthusiasm! This show might be over the top for PBS but I think it's a great show and a great concept with broad appeal. I would also love to see it expanded to an hour-long show with more in-depth information each piece being discussed and/or discussion of more pieces.

I thought the host did a excellent job of explaining the historical context and significance of each work of art. That's rare in documentary programs much less one about art. Doing so gives viewers the "big picture" and helps them better understand a work of art by relating it to the culture of the time and the other art produced before it. Sure the host was excited, but it's the type of excitement that's contagious. I'm hooked. More please!

I really enjoyed Lee's show. As others have pointed out, Lee's enthusiasm is infectious. I also really enjoyed how Lee described ways that the viewer could personally engage each work of art. (Explaining the concept of leadership in 'Washington crossing the Delaware' and how Pollock intended you to just 'feel' his painting.)

The show had a clear delineation between scripted narration and unscripted (or less scripted) content by Lee. The unscripted comments (Johnny Cash, stomp on my heart...) made this into more than another dry, white-washed art show. This was a real guy opening a window to the real people, forces and ideas behind real art. I personally can't stand the dry, starched, and linear presentations of typical academic art history. So, I'd say let's have MORE Lee, not less.

Cheers

When I heard that the Travel Channel had taped a pilot art show with Lee Sandstead, I was naturally excited. When I was a student at college, I brought Sandstead to my campus several times to speak about art, and each time his electrifying energy and his unparalleled ability to explain art and art history left his audience absolutely spellbound.

Having now seen the show (several times in fact), let me say that it surpassed all my expectations. The production values were excellent; the show easily lived up to Sandstead’s great passion for art and the innovative post-production techniques made the art he was talking about come alive. Watching the show, it was clear that you weren’t just passively looking at art—you were taking part in an event that that leapt off your TV screen with verve. I threw a premier party for the show at my home and it was clear that my guests got it too. While all of us were pretty sure that we would be fans of this show, I must say that what we saw exceeded all of our expectations.

I have to admit though, reading though some of the remarks, I am a bit surprised to see that some responded so negatively. I think the problem rest with how the show’s directors decided to portray Sandstead. For example, in all the campus talks that I hosted, Sandstead was anything but the "Oxyclean Guy." After all, Sandstead was the kind of speaker students brought their grandmothers to see and it wasn’t because he yelled at them for two and a half hours. The Sandstead we saw on campus ran the whole gamut of emotions and was able to capture the delicateness of the serene with the quite dignity it deserved, while at the same time treating other art with the passion and intelligence that it it deserved. Every time the audience certainly left "fired up"—but for beauty and poignancy just as easily as they left “fired up” for passionate love and intensity.

Unfortunately, this pilot did not highlight the sensitive side of Sandstead. For example, even the cold beauty of John Singer Sergeant’s “Madame X” was overlaid with thumping music. I’m sorry, but even Sister Wendy or Simon Schama is going to come off as overly intense if you broadcast them talking about the feminine form over thumping bass music.

Another thing that I think was missing from the show was a connection between the works presented. For example, I’ve been to two talks where Sandstead spoke about great changes in art history. The first was the transition from the Egyptians to the Greeks, and the second was the transition from the medieval to the renaissance. I know it will be hard for people to take me at my word, but Sandstead’s presentation was utterly captivating. I grew up with art all my life, but the ideas behind what artists choose to represent and why were never made more clear to me (and the rest of the audience) as when Sandstead explained it.

The result was one could look at a painting or sculpture made over 2,000 years ago and suddenly understand how *it* was the lynchpin that made America, Apollo 11, and IPods possible. I know the show is about galleries, but I think the most captivating presentation will come when Sandstead is able to present just how what you see and learn in a gallery can make your life all the more rich—intellectually, spiritually—the whole gamut. And yes—Sandstead is the exceptional kind of communicator who can present that truth to a mass audience.

As I pilot, I think that the presentation of the show and how best to present the talent is an issue that can work itself over time. I only hope that the naysayers haven’t ruined it for the rest of us, because if there is one thing I know people will enjoy seeing, it’s Lee Sandstead sharing all he knows about art.

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Originally posted by mod_ben:
What did you think of Art Attack with Lee Sandstead?

I loved this show!!! Not only was it informative, but entertaining as well! You can see how much Mr. Sandstead loves what he does. He brought the artwork to life, as I have never seen it done before. Most times, shows about art put me to sleep because the hosts don't have enough enthusiasm to keep me interested. Not this time!! I couldn't even leave the TV until the show was over, I was afraid I might miss something! Good job, Mr. Sandstead and The Travel Channel!!